Fund to unlockyouthpotential

Feb 24 2010 by Karen McLauchlan, Evening Gazette

YOUNG people struggling to find or secure work due to the economic climate have received a welcome boost thanks to a £1.5m fund aimed at helping them to fulfil their potential.

Working in partnership with the North East 14-19 Commission, regional development agency One North East has approved the Progression Challenge Fund (PCF) to address the unprecedented challenges faced by those who have achieved Level 3 qualifications (A levels and their equivalents) but who are finding it difficult to progress into employment or to find the type of work they desire.

Colleges were invited to apply for PCF.

Those successful were Hartlepool Further Education - providing the partnership between Teesside FE colleges; Gateshead College - providing the regional offer for Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, New College Durham - partnership between FE colleges in County Durham and finally TyneMet - the industry centred engineering project for marine and energy sectors.

They will together target:

Those aged under 25 in the North-east

People who have completed a level 3 qualification in the previous 18 months

Those who are currently unemployed - whether registered with Job Centre Plus or not - or under-employed

Those adversely impacted by the current economic climate and/or the over demand on HE places for September 2009.

The funding will be used to provide flexible funding to support diverse and innovative approaches that respond to the current short-term challenges with the aim of helping people undertake further study, training or work experience programmes that support them to progress in education or employment.

For example Tynemet will work with the community and employers to specifically improve the chances of people looking to establish a career in engineering or manufacturing by using its specialist facilities to develop and focus candidates in engineering skills.

This will be achieved by specific training, work placements and subsidised places so people can focus their efforts on entering the engineering sector. Candidates will also have the opportunity to complete some specific Higher Education modules with no financial restrictions.

The overall Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) rate in the region was just over one in 20 of the working age population (5.3%) in October compared to 4.1% in the UK but the JSA rate for 18 to 24-year-olds was almost double this at over one in 10 - 10.5% in the North-east compared to 8.3% in the UK.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of One North East, said: “Youth unemployment is a significant challenge, with around one third of the region’s claimant unemployed aged between 18 and 24 in October.

“The region’s ability to emerge from recession and take advantage of the opportunities the economic recovery will present will depend, in part, upon the availability of skilled people within key growth sectors. This fund is therefore crucial to ensuring every effort is made to minimise the impact of the recession on the ‘skills pipeline’ and to make sure we give young people every chance to find employment and make a career in the North-east.”